GUEST OPINION: Official responds to N.J. Turnpike turmoil

James Cann
   This letter is in response to ‘Pike talk sparks crowd ire’ from the Thursday, Jan. 29 edition of the Register-News. Mr. Cann is deputy mayor of Bordentown Township.
   You may have either heard or read commentary on the current status of negotiations between (Bordentown) Township and the Turnpike Authority. Unfortunately, so much of the commentary has been so politically slanted and erroneous that it warrants clarification. I would like to clear up some of the misinformation, as well as provide a true account of the events leading up to the current state of affairs concerning the township and the Turnpike Widening Project.
   Throughout my campaign, I pledged, among other things, to protect the quality of life of our residents by resuming civil, constructive negotiations with the Turnpike Authority regarding sound abatement measures, and a realistic and fair exchange for Green Acres land. Because the Turnpike Authority had formally ended negotiations with the Township in early October 2008, I considered getting back to the negotiation table to be of critical importance to our residents, especially in light of the Turnpike’s accelerated construction schedule. As the duly appointed liaison to the Turnpike Authority, I met with Turnpike officials as soon as possible to discuss these matters. While I succeeded in regaining the concessions from officials that they had taken off the negotiation table, they emphatically reaffirmed their decision that Clifton Mill did not meet the requirements for a sound wall.
   Now, residents are being misled to believe that Committeeman (Mark) Roselli, the former liaison, was “one meeting away” from getting Clifton Mill residents a sound wall and that I, due to inexperience and partisan politics, sabotaged any chance of that happening. What follows are the myths and realities surrounding this important issue:
   MYTH: I do not have the qualifications or the experience to negotiate with the Turnpike Authority.
   REALITY: For the last 21 years I have been a manager and partner in a statewide real estate appraisal business. Prior to that, I was statewide appraisal manager for a bank in charge of four offices, directly managing the largest office with 15 appraisers. I was a right-of-way negotiator and senior appraiser for the state Department of Transportation for five years. On a daily basis I research, compile, and analyze data and negotiate with attorneys, lending institutions, and clients. It is because of this body of extensive and relevant experience that I was appointed liaison to the Turnpike.
   MYTH: Committeeman Roselli laid the groundwork for successful talks with Turnpike officials and was “one meeting away from securing a wall.”
   REALITY: In 2006, when Turnpike officials approached then-Mayor Roselli about holding an informational session where residents could ask questions and receive answers, Mayor Roselli responded that they were not welcome in Bordentown. Residents who attended the hearing in September 2007 will remember that Committeeman Roselli publicly berated Turnpike officials, called them names, and threatened a lawsuit. When Committeeman Roselli met with former DOT Commissioner Kris Kolluri, that meeting was abruptly ended by the commissioner when Committeeman Roselli erupted into a profanity-laced tirade.
   During the first half of 2008, Committeemen George Chidley and Bill Morelli negotiated a three-part settlement which included $1.3 million worth of trees to serve as a sound barrier between Clifton Mill and the Turnpike and acquisition of 17 acres of state-owned land known as the Dix Drive-In in exchange for the 5+ acres of Township Green Acres land being taken. When this settlement was presented at the Aug. 25, 2008 meeting, the Township Committee led by Committeeman Roselli expressed their displeasure and requested another meeting with the DOT Commissioner and Turnpike Authorities. On Sept. 8, 2008 the Turnpike offered four dates, the last being Oct. 2. Committeeman Roselli failed to respond until well after the last date had passed, which prompted the Turnpike to end negotiations with the Township.
   The Turnpike Authority wrote in its letter, “The Authority wishes to express our dismay with the unwillingness to further negotiations in good faith and regrets not reaching a timely and amicable settlement of these issues.” Not only was much of what the Turnpike had offered Bordentown taken off the table, but now the township was to be compensated monetarily for the 5+ acres and would have to purchase land to enter into the Green Acres program, thus removing it from the tax rolls.
   When I attempted to restart negotiations with the Turnpike, they were reluctant to renegotiate because of the length of time that had already been spent with township officials, the lack of response to their request to negotiate, the lack of any substantive negotiation attempts by the township in the last three months of 2008, and the rancorous meetings they already had with Committeeman Roselli. Does it seem reasonable to you that Committeeman Roselli was “one meeting away from securing a wall?”
   By conducting professional talks with Turnpike officials, I was able to regain the concessions that had been negotiated earlier, and by the end of my meeting in the Commissioner’s Office, I was able to improve the tree barrier for Clifton Mill to include layered landscaping to insure a dense coverage of trees from top to bottom, increased caliper (size) of the trees planted, and an increase in the coniferous mix (coverage year-round) to over 65 percent of the trees planted. The Turnpike would not agree to do a second sound study at Clifton Mill, but did leave open the option of another sound study after the widening is complete
   MYTH: I cancelled Committeeman Roselli’s Jan. 22, 2009 meeting with the Turnpike Commissioner.
   REALITY: I do not determine the commissioner’s calendar or meeting schedule. I neither requested nor suggested that this meeting be cancelled. The commissioner informed me at the end of our meeting that he was cancelling the meeting with Committeeman Roselli.
   MYTH: Committeeman Roselli successfully negotiated a sound barrier for the Township of Robbinsville.
   REALITY: The guidelines for noise barriers apply only to residential areas. The sound wall at the Sharon Elementary School in Robbinsville was agreed to at a public meeting and negotiated afterwards by school officials. A sound reading conducted by the Turnpike at the school exceeded the standards for a residential community.
   MYTH: The results of the Pennoni Sound Study commissioned by the township concluded that a noise barrier would mitigate sound at Clifton Mill.
   REALITY: This sound study did produce readings that met the Turnpike’s criteria, and I argued that point forcefully. Prior to meeting with the Turnpike we twice asked the engineer who prepared the sound study to amend her report to conclude that a noise barrier would mitigate sound at Clifton Mill. She responded that she could not do that.
   MYTH: The money spent on reforestation could be spent on a wall instead.
   REALITY: If we don’t accept the reforestation, the money for the trees cannot be used to build a sound wall. This is not an either-or situation. If we reject this offer we do stand a chance of losing both the reforestation and Green Acres land exchange, and still will not secure a noise wall for Clifton Mill. I believe the residents of Clifton Mill deserve both the reforestation and the noise wall, and fought hard to secure both for them, but I do not believe it is in the best interest of the residents of the Township and Clifton Mill to risk everything and reject this settlement.
   MYTH: My actions were motivated by “partisan politics.”
   REALITY: If this were the case, the bipartisan members of the Township Committee would have allowed Committeeman Roselli to continue his lack of progress in negotiations with the Turnpike to the detriment of all residents. Clearly, with his failed attempt at negotiations to this point and his “all or nothing” stance, he could have single-handedly cost Clifton Mill residents any sort of sound mitigation, lost the acquisition of the Dix Drive-In, and removed property from the tax rolls during an economic recession. In the process of securing the best and most reasonable settlement possible for our residents we arguably saved Committeeman Roselli from himself.